Cord Blood News Volume 12.06 | Feb 20 2020

TOP STORY

Allogeneic Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation for Treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Pilot Clinical Study

Umbilical cord-derived MSC-transplanted patients showed a significantly reduced Modified Medical Research Council score, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test, and number of exacerbations. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Exosomal miR-135a Derived from Human Amnion Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promotes Cutaneous Wound Healing in Rats and Fibroblast Migration by Directly Inhibiting LATS2 Expression

miR-135a significantly promoted wound healing compared to the control treatment. Western blot analysis showed a significant downregulation of LATS2 after overexpression of miR-135a. In addition, knockdown of miR-135a effectively attenuated the promoting effect of exosomes on cell migration. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Noninvasive White Blood Cell Quantification in Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Bags with Quantitative Oblique Back-Illumination Microscopy

Quantitative oblique back-illumination microscopy clearly differentiated between red blood cells and nucleated cells. The cell‐counting analysis showed an average error of 13% compared to hematology analysis, with a near-perfect, one-to-one relationship and strong correlation coefficient. [Transfusion] Abstract

Shockwave Therapy Combined with Autologous Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Is Better than with Human Umbilical Cord Wharton’s Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Knee Osteoarthritis

The authors examined whether autologous adipose-derived MSCs and human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs increased the efficacy of extracorporeal shockwave therapy in knee osteoarthritis (OA), and compared the efficacy of the two. The treatment groups exhibited significant improvement of knee OA according to pathological analysis, micro-computed tomography, and immunohistochemistry staining. [Int J Mol Sci] Full Article

Intrathecal Injection in A Rat Model: A Potential Route to Deliver Human Wharton’s Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the Brain

Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs (WJ-MSCs) were intrathecally injected via the L2-3 intervertebral space in six-week-old Sprague Dawley rats. These rats were then sacrificed at varying time points: 0, 6, and 12 hours following injection. At 12 hours, a significant number of MSCs were detected in the brain but not in other organs. [Int J Mol Sci] Abstract | Download Full Article

Dose-Dependent Effects of Tetramethylpyrazine on the Characteristics of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Stroke Therapy

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) protected umbilical cord MSCs (ucMSCs) against H₂O₂ induced-oxidative damage but had no influence on ucMSC activity at a low concentration. Furthermore, ucMSC migration was improved by TMP via the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis. At a high dose, however, TMP induced the differentiation of ucMSCs into neuron-like cells that expressed neuron-specific markers. In addition, the secretion of cytokines was significantly increased by TMP. [Neurosci Lett] Abstract

Umbilical Cord-Derived Wharton’s Jelly for Regenerative Medicine Applications

Scientists report the development of a novel Wharton’s jelly formulation and evaluate the presence of growth factors, cytokines, hyaluronic acid, and extracellular vesicles including exosomes. [J Orthop Surg Res] Full Article

B-Cell Precursor–Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with EBF1-PDGFRB Fusion Treated with Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Imatinib

Researchers demonstrated the successful use of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor to treat B-cell precursor–acute lymphoblastic leukemia with a fusion transcript and highlight the need for a standardized treatment protocol. [J Pediatr Hematol Oncol] Abstract

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Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Carriers for Systemic Delivery of Oncolytic Viruses

The authors discuss MSCs as carriers for delivery of genetically engineered oncolytic constructs and focus on systemic approach to oncoviral treatment of some deadly neoplasms. [Eur J Pharmacol] Abstract

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CIBMTR^® Announces Real World Data Effort to Accelerate Breakthroughs that Transform Patient Experiences in Cellular Therapy with IQVIA

The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research^® (CIBMTR^®) announced the selection of IQVIA as it seeks to expand the value real world data can bring to patients, through systematic investigation to generate real world evidence. The CIBMTR is a long-standing research collaboration between the National Marrow Donor Program^®/Be The Match^® and the Medical College of Wisconsin, dedicated to improving survival, treatment and quality of life for transplant and cellular therapy patients. [CIBMTR^®] Press Release

University City Science Center Partnership with CSL Behring Accelerates the Search for New Biotherapies at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Delaware

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Delaware have been awarded funding and support to accelerate their search for new medicines through an ongoing partnership between global biotechnology leader CSL Behring and the University City Science Center. [University City Science Center] Press Release

Scholars Debate Causes of Women’s Underrepresentation in STEM

Two new commentaries on a contested 2018 study about gender disparities in STEM fields clash over whether sex differences or social inequalities are to blame for the lack of women scientists and engineers. [The Scientist] Editorial

The Next Chapter for African Genomics

Nigeria is poised to become a hub for genetics research, but a few stubborn challenges block the way. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW FGF Signaling: Understanding Function and Devising Therapeutic Tools
May 10-15, 2020
Lucca, Italy

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NEW PhD Student Position – Oral Biology and Medicine (Karolinska Institutet)

NEW Research Technician – Graft versus Host Disease (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Laboratory Director – Cord Blood Processing (PerkinElmer)

Research Associate – Cell Culture (Rogosin Institute)

Tenure-Track/Tenured Faculty Positions – Biomedical Science (Southern University of Science and Technology)

Postdoctoral Fellow Positions – Epigenetics, 3D Bioprinting, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Biology, Bioengineering, and Blood Cancers (Childrens Hospital & Ohio State University)

Assistant or Associate Professor – Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Program (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Senior Research Scientist – Stem Cell Biology and Disease Modeling (Tata Institute for Genetics and Society)

Research Assistant Professor – Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation (University of Iowa)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Immunotherapy/CAR T Cell Development (City of Hope)

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